Google vrs. China

China may have more to lose than Goggle, The New York Times reports today. By tightening its grip on online communication, it is challenging admittedly Western free-speech notions; but free flow of information is the bedrock of globalism. If China wants to be a global leader, perhaps THE global leader, it may have to ease its censorship and give its citizens access to "a wide range of political and social topics that its leaders believe could lead to instability."

Otherwise, "the cost, at least with some influential sectors of its own society, could be steep," speculates the Times . For one thing, the Chinese technology sector may find itself cut off from innovation.

A U.S. scholar who advised President Bill Clinton on China, observed, "“What does Google’s exit say? What it says publicly is what everyone deeply engaged in China knows privately. This is a system with very substantial domestic imperfection."

Moral: Even the most powerful nations today have to open the door to free flow of information if they want to be part of the global system.

Google's Chinese Solution

This news alert just in from the Wall Street Journal:

"Google will shift its search engine for China off the mainland to Hong Kong and maintain other operations in the country. The compromise announced Monday is an attempt to balance its stance against censorship with its desire to profit from a growing Internet market.

Google plans to keep its engineering and sales offices in China so it can keep a technological toehold in the country and continue to sell ads for the Chinese-language version of its search engine in the U.S."

The company's chief legal officer blogged : "Figuring out how to make good on our promise to stop censoring search on Goggle.cn has been hard. We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement."

Google has set up a new web page to give a daily report of what Google services are available in China -- and what are blocked.

Political Attack Ads Go Viral

Political ads are an important part of educating citizens in a democracy. Candidates use them to get their message across to voters.But sometimes the message gets nasty. "Attack ads," which began in the U.S. in the early 1960s, are negative advertising. They are intended to shape public opinion by smearing opponents, often by innuendo and false or exaggerated statements.

Now with the Web, attack ads have gone viral with demon sheep, an opponent portrayed as a hot-air blimp and Dubai "slave bosses." Examples The debate on the health insurance legislation in the U.S. is getting so heated, even the families of politicians are being featured in the attack ads.

In the highly competitive world of advertising, the pressure is always on for produce ads that create a buzz, but where's the line between edgy and unethical?

What What You Text; Somebody Else May Be Reading

Two Emirates Airline cabin crew members in Dubai thought that what they were texting was just between them. They found out otherwise when a divorce court ordered Etisalat to release the messages six months ago. The two were ordered to leave the country after serving six-month jail sentences. They appealed. Agence France-Press just reported that the sentence has been reduced -- three months in jail and they can stay in the country. The "Sexy Texting" story has been getting a lot of attention in the world press. Asharq Alawsat observes: "Dubai, a regional tourist hub with a large non-Muslim expatriate population and the Gulf's most liberal social policies, nevertheless continues to apply strict rules based on Islamic Sharia laws."

Rolltop Computer--The Future?

How would you like to be carrying
one of these around instead of a laptop?

Don't Cover Insurgency, Afghan Officials Say

Last Friday may be the last time anyone sees live coverage of firefights in Kabul. Afghanistan's intelligence service told reporters Monday that the press will no longer be allowed to cover Taliban attacks while they are in progress, because such coverage "does not benefit the government." Even to film the aftermath will require permission from the intelligence service.

Expect protest from both foreign and Afghan journalists, who believe people have the right to know what is happening in their world.

Abu Dhabi:The Beginning

An amazing documentary from the early 1970s. Enjoy.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3